Cheltenham Festival Notebook: Who has Glistened in the Gold Cup
Build-up?

Fast-approaching the start of the 2018 Cheltenham
Festival, shrewd punters are filling up their notepads, jotting down the
form of the stars who have caught their eye this season.

The numbers will be whittled down in the weeks
before the curtain goes up at Prestbury Park but until then we guide you
through our list of what’s hot and what’s not in the Cheltenham Gold Cup
betting. The festival’s main event, this grade one spectacle, decided
over 3m 2f, offers a whopping prize to the winner, ensuring the stars
come out to shine.

Might Bite

The antepost favourite with
williamhill.com in early February is Might Bite, currently trading
at 3/1, and if the market is correct, Nicky Henderson’s nine-year-old
will claim the Blue Riband of jump-racing. It’s little surprise to see
odds compilers throw their weight behind Might Bite either as he went
into the year boasting five wins on the bounce. Last spotted claiming
the King George at Kempton on Boxing Day, he edged big-price runner-up
Double Shuffle by a length. A horse in red-hot form.

Sizing John

Sizing John heads the chasing pack, priced as best
of the rest at 6/1. The experienced eight-year-old, winning nine of his
first 20, reeled off five victories on the bounce, but has some making
up to do to punters, having finished down the order in the Leopardstown
Christmas Chase late last year. A race won by Road To Respect, Sizing
John was never in it – despite going off as odds-on favourite – a couple
of mistakes putting paid to his chances. His best will see him go close
but punters won’t be in a rush to trust the second-fav with their
hard-earned cash after that effort.

Native River

He might be a 9/1 third-favourite but some serious
question marks hang over Native River at present. The Colin Tizzard
trained hope hasn’t been seen on track since finishing third in this
race last year, beaten by Sizing John and Minella Rocco. Three lengths
were the difference that day between first and third, but Native River
made an error at the business end of the contest and that seemed to
knock the stuffing out of him. With a better run who knows what would’ve
happened. Will the time away from competitive action scare backers off?
Well, it’s not a positive, that’s for sure, and he’ll be plenty rusty
when going to post. There are more reliable sorts at better prices in
this renewal.

Djakadam

One at a bigger price worth a
mention is Djakadam for
Willie Mullins. The star went off a convincing 3/1 favourite last
year and wasn’t disgraced when finishing fourth. Another we could make
excuses for as he was shaping well when blundering two out. He didn’t
get a clear run that day but was good enough to lead the field at times,
crucially sitting at the head of the pack when making his mistake. In
the end, it went down as a race best forgotten but punters in a
forgiving mood, who think Djakadam will run in the Gold Cup, find him
marked up on the board at a monster 33/1. Placed third in the Irish Gold
Cup in February, that will attract the attention of each-way punters.